Kucinich is unelectable people, would you change your opinion of him if...

[plurality]

Poll question: Kucinich is unelectable people, would you change your opinion of him if...

Kucinich had a surprise showing in Iowa?

If Dean was first and Kucinich was second, or if Gephard was first Dean was second and Kucinich was third, or some other very unexpected result occured, would you reconsider supporting him?

I ask because the caucas system is very difficult to poll, because you never know for sure who's going to show up, and Kucinich has spent A LOT of time in Iowa. It is entirely possible that he could blow away expectations. If this happened would you be more inclined to listen to your ideals over 'electability'?

NOTE: This only applies to people that don't support Kucinich because they believe him 'unelectable', but otherwise agree with him on the issues. If you support someone else because they speak to you on the issues and you disagree with Kucinich, this poll is NOT FOR YOU! Please move along.

So, here we go, if Kucinich places 1st, 2nd, or 3rd I will...

[Don Claybrook]

1. Yes, I'd switch to Dennis

He's always been my favorite candidate and represents views closest to my own. My choice is just pragmatism. If that makes me a whore, or similar, so be it. But yeah, I'd vote for Kucinich in a flash if I thought he had any chance at all.

[plurality]

3. good to know

don't know why, but for some reason i think he's going to surprise some people in Iowa.

heard that tweety said after the debate last night that he saw evidence kucinich was catching on in Iowa, and i think his grassroots could have the possibility of swarming the caucas in certain areas and making a major dent.

[brainshrub]

2. The reason I'm not voting for Kucinich isn't because he isn't electable

I think that's a stupid argument against Kucinich. Anyone could run against the chimp and win in '04.

The reason I'm not supporting him is because I don't think any of his proposals will actually be able to pass congress. He will be a 4-year laughing-stock lame duck.

[mikewriter]

4. After last night's debate

Dk scored alot in my book. I'm a Dean supporter but I like DK and I like him enough to possibly give him my support. I hope he does well in the early states, I want him to stick around for a while.

[plurality]

5. did you see the part where i said this poll is not for you then?

you are an exception, there are many that agree with DK, but don't support him because of the 'unelectable' cannard.

it is those people whose opinion I desired not yours. if i had wanted your opinion i would have asked for it.

[mikewriter]

10. I didn't vote

I just wanted to express my thought about DK since this thread was about him.

[plurality]

11. ok

it's difficult to try and get honest results on these, people will try and skew them from time to time.

feel free to express written opinion, just don't click radio buttons :)

[Don Claybrook]

definition and application of 'unelectable'

When I think of Kucinich as unelectable, I'm thinking in terms of the Democratic field. I think DK might actually end up beating Bush if nominated(it would be tough..can you imagine all the garbage the media would spew?).

Unfortunately, I think it's Democrats who would and will keep him from getting the nomination, because he'd come after them the same as he would the GOP. I believe the man means to clean house, and that includes lots of folks from both sides of that aisle.

[goodhue]

21. that's different

Unelectable in the primary but not the general election? I don't think that's what most folks mean who tag DK unelectable.

[plurality]

6. So why do you still think Kucinich is unelectable?

To those who voted that way.

[AntiCoup2K4]

7. If Kucinich won every primary and took the nomination, he still would be..

..unelectable. Would I vote for him? Hell yes. Would I campaign for him? Most probably. Could he beat Junior? Not a chance :(

[plurality]

8. i guess we differ here

bush already lost once, and he hasn't won any new votes since 2000, only lost them as far as i can tell.

plus i think when people actually hear DK's ideas they'll resonate with the people, and the people will support him. the people just need the chance to hear what he's about, instead of hearing the media 'unelectable left-wing nutcase spin'. that's why i think he'll do well in iowa is because the people there have seen him in person and are using that to decide on him and not on what the ny times or msnbc has to say.

[AndyTiedye]

19. We Not Only Have to Beat Bush*, We Have to Beat Diebold

> bush already lost once, and he hasn't won any new votes since 2000, only lost them as far as i can tell.

He is positioned to steal a lot more votes than in 2000.

We need more than a majority, we need a landslide,
so that if he tries to steal the election this time
nobody will believe it.
Like Shevardnadze.

[diamondsoul]

26. FTR, I didn't vote in the poll!

Since I already support DK as a State Campaign Coordinator.

Now to respond to this post- WHO among the candidates is as usual leading the pack against Diebold and the other EVS companies? WHICH of them is calling on people, supporters and non-supporters alike, (hell Democrat and Republican alike!) to monitor the voting process in this election so we don't get screwed again?

There's only one. His name is Dennis J. Kucinich. You want to prevent voter fraud? Nominate Kucinich. He's already got a webpage in the works to advise people how to monitor the voting process, what questions to ask of who, where to go to look out for their own votes, how to demand a monitoring of the vote counts, etc. I expect it'll be up by the end of this month. Now imagine having that resource available through the prep for the GE. Tell me you really think the Democrats wouldn't rally to that call to prevent another 2000 debacle.

[AntiCoup2K4]

31. Three words : "Department of Peace"

Junior has the masses trapped in fear and convinced that an endless war against a nameless enemy is the only thing that will save America. It's reasonable to expect that you might get some people to make the leap from there to protecting America, but NOT starting any further pre-emptive invasions, which is where most of the candidates are at. It's another thing for Dennis to do a complete 180 and form a "Department of Peace" and withdraw every last troop from Iraq immediately. Whether or not you agree with him on those ideals, it's not going to sell in the current climate. Not with a Fraudministration creating fear, and not with a media willingly spreading their lies.

[diamondsoul]

32. "...withdraw every last troop from Iraq immediately. "

Except once again we see Kucinich's plan misrepresented. He has NEVER said any such thing! Try reading the plan and the numbers he put forth before you spout off things he's never advocated.

In point of fact Kucinich's plan calls for a good 130,000 US troops to be committed as part of a UN coordinated peace-keeping mission.

[DemBones DemBones]

17. Why not? Both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were dark horse long

shots. Dennis Kucinich has an advantage over both of them because he's been in Washington a few years, in Congress, whereas they never had. That would enable him to be more effective than either Clinton or Carter were in their first months in Washington. This is also an advantage DK has in comparison to Dean, Sharpton, and Clark (though I suspect that Clark has more familiarity with Washington than most who haven't served in Congress, albeit from the perspective of an Army general.)

Kucinich's positions on the issues and his commitment to helping the American people, to taking this country in a new direction that favors human lives over corporate profits; his truthfulness; his (dare I say it?) unabashed patriotism and love for this country; all that he is for, taken together, will win him a great deal of support.

[JohnKleeb]

9. hey plural was wondering the same

good question.

[La_Serpiente]

12. I know I would

n/t

[jsw_81]

13. It would't matter if Kucinich swept every primary and caucus

He'd still go down in flames against Bush.

[plurality]

14. care to offer your reasons for believing this...

or is jsw_81 synonymous with omniscience and I somehow missed it in the thesaurus?

[jsw_81]

15. Because he's a fringe leftist

And fringe leftists don't get elected President of the United States. This isn't an insult, only a statement of fact.

[plurality]

16. what is fringe about him?

Is it fringe to be against being lied to in order to start a war?

Is it fringe to advocate universal health care?

Is it fringe to believe that the government of the United States should care more about Americans having jobs than Indians/Mexicans/Indonesians having jobs?

Is it fringe to think that careing for people should be a bigger concern than killing them?

All that sounds pretty common sense to me. I guess our world's in a pretty sad state when common sense moves to the world of 'fringe' thinking.

[GreenArrow]

18. ah, "fringe leftist"

nice terminology. He's not, you know, just a good, solid, moderate liberal Democrat. But, if realitively speaking, DK is a fringe leftist, then this country is really headed down the road to a right wing authoritarianism. If DK is a "fringe leftist" he are seriously screwed as a nation.

[ThirdWheelLegend]

22. disturbing trend, Dems supporting right of center policies...

It is a disturbing trend that some Dems are supporting right of center and sometimes republican-like policies because of their loyalty to candidates.

TWL

[diamondsoul]

33. Creepy, innit? n/t

[bhunt70]

20. I would consider him a winner if he swept them all...

Not sure if thats ever happened before, so anyone who could do it must be doing something right.

[Constitution]

23. I'm supporting Dennis no matter who wins Iowa

Dennis is the best and I have a conscience.

[sandnsea]

24. If Kucinich had a 40% Iowa win

I'd switch to him. It would be a signal that the country is really ready to get behind change.

I'm listening to the Gephardt union voters. I know Kucinich has been just as strong a union supporter as Gephardt, if not more so. Kucinich should have those votes. Kucinich should have the Dean anti-war votes. If Kucinich had gotten both those camps, like his record says he should have, he'd be winning easy. He hasn't though, and I don't know exactly what that means about this country.

[ThirdWheelLegend]

25. I think it's fairly obvious, we could start with Chomsky..

Manufacturing Consent.

The media is complicit in deciding who the majority of people vote for. I couldn't help but notice that Dean now has a blazing Rolling Stone cover to add to the huge media coverage disparity. This is proven by the fact that the disparity started when Dean and Kucinich were polling withing a couple points of each other. Within a month Dean had two national magazine covers and 2-3 times the amount of mentions in TV press and printed press.

TWL

[ryharrin]

28. You just completely ignored what else was going on at the time.

Around that time Dean also had huge, unexpected fundraising numbers and around a hundred thousand people around the country going to meetups for him. Both of which are excellent news stories, and deserve coverage.
I'm not saying that Dennis doesn't deserve more coverage, just that I believe Dean earned the early media exposure he got.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

27. You made a poll I can't answer.

I do agree with DK on many issues but I don't think he is our best choice for President.

I think many DK supporters overestimate the 'unelectability factor'. There are other reasons why you could respect DK and still support someone else.

[plurality]

30. what are your reasons?

do you agree with someone else on more of the issues, or is there an issue of DK's that is a deal breaker for you?

I do realize that there are many people that have legitimate differences with Kucinich. It's just that I constantly see so many posts of, "I love DK, he's so right on every issue.... But he'll never win, so I must be practical." That's what really bugs the hell out of me, and they are the people I really wish to convince.

I respect people's choice if they have obvious differences with him. It's the others that I can't understand.

[rucky]

29. This is exactly why I'm undecided

I've been withholding my support for DK. I'm not one to get emotionally involved in lost causes - for my own sanity, more than anything. I need some sign that Kucinich can build momentum. 15% in IA would be a good enough sign for me. If he can do that, I'm in 100%.

Great poll!

[YellowDawgDemocrat]

34. I can't imagine any scenario where I would vote for Kucinich

Whether you Kucinich supporters like it or not, a lot of Americans ask themselves if this is the person they want to see everyday on their televisions for Four years. Shallow, yes. But, that's just the way it is. He looks like a geek and comes across like Jerry Brown.

Keep reminding yourself that most Americans don't start paying any attention to the candidates or elections until the final few weeks.

There was probably a chance Kucinich could have been in better shape had he began his campaign way earlier. But, Dean sucked all the oxygen out of the air early on and took over as the anti-establishment candidate...and thus the populist.

Dean supporters and Kucinich supporters have a lot in common, I hope you guys jump on board after Iowa and New Hampshire.